‘Notre Dame’ show to close after 7-month run

Jeffrey Libby

Wednesday, July 26, 2000 | 10:52 a.m.

After an abbreviated run before modest crowds, "Notre Dame de Paris" will close at Paris Las Vegas Saturday, hotel management announced today.

"We are very proud to have had 'Notre Dame de Paris' at Paris Las Vegas and continue to believe this spectacular show was the right match thematically for our Parisian-style resort," said Paul V. Pusateri, president of Paris Las Vegas and Bally's Las Vegas.

Based on the Victor Hugo tale known to Americans as "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," the pop musical opened with high hopes in January, billed as the first-ever musical-dramatic work developed for the American stage in Las Vegas. The hotel-casino had opened its own doors just five months earlier.

According to producer Wayne Baruch, the budget of "Notre Dame de Paris" was the largest of any Broadway musical in history.

Two productions of "Notre Dame" currently running in England and France have sold more than 2 million tickets. But in Las Vegas, the gloomy musical played host to just 130,000 people over seven months, never generating similar enthusiasm, and instead found itself hampered by mixed reviews from the critics and numerous injuries among cast members.

Performances through Saturday will be offered two-for-one for Nevada residents. Show times are at 7:30 p.m. today through Saturday with additional shows at 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $69.50.